Talossan Cycling Association Tour Season 4 Leg 2: Lille -> Paris

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

Ohmygosh! We're back on podium! Huzzah!

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

Third place through eighth is an absolute cluster. Going to be quite the dash as we get closer to Paris.

Danny van Poppel, due to the birth of his daughter.

Aww, congrats to him!

Unfortunately, the crashes in the set up to the final sprint took out GHS's Carlos Rodriguez, who broke his pelvis

oh.

[Glüc]

Stage 18 Vif -> Courchevel (Col de la Loze)

Yesterday was the Queen stage of the tour, with three climbs of the highest category*. Vingegaard has announced he wanted to try an ultimate attempt to challenge Pogacar for the lead in GC. This would have required winning back a lot of time. He did try to attack a couple of times, but an all out attack never really materialised, so Pogacar was easily able to defend his lead and with only one more mountain stage to go has a 4,5 minute advantage. By finishing second on the Col de La Madeleine and second on the finish, Pogacar did gain the lead in the KOM classification as well. More interesting is the fight for third place where Onley (CJO) made up a lot of time on Lipowitz (EVC) and is now only 22 seconds away from the podium. The stage was won surprisingly by O'Connor (BDC), which also resulted in BdC scoring the most points.

As a result BdC climb to third place in the standings, while EVC also had a good day and enter the top 5.

_{*As a sidenote I happened to travel the final part of the route of the second climb, the Col de La Madeleine, last february. Only I was on skis and going in the opposite direction.}

Standings after stage 18:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	7301	+350
2nd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	7031	+356
3rd	(+1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	6475	+684
4th	(+2)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6335	+623
5th	(+3)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	6277	+667
6th	(+1)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	6274	+572
7th	(-2)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	6235	+479
8th	(-5)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	6142	+314
9th	(+1)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	4816	+444
10th	(-1)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	4683	+286

Todaý is the final Alpine stage in the tour, and it's a short one, which has been shortened even more. 'Only' 93 kilometer including three summits and ending in another skiresort. This will likely be one for the GC favourites.

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

_{Only I was on skies and going in the opposite direction.}

Meh, details.

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 19 Albertville -> La Plagne

The last mountain stage was a shortened one that, apart for Thymen Arensman's second win, mostly confirmed the status quo. Vingegaard got P2 ahead of Pogacar in a two-rider uphill dash to the line. Florian Lipowitz (EVC, 4th) was the only one who could mostly stay with them, finally defeating Oscar Onley (CJO, 5th)'s bid to snatch third place in GC from him. Felix Gall (BDC/EVC, 6th) also did well and gained a place in GC to round off the likely final overall top 5. Seventh, and also gaining two spots in GC, is DED's Tobias Johannessen. The one to conversely lose out is Primoz Roglic (REX), who finished a distant 27th and dropped to 8th in GC. Kévin Vauquelin (CHX/GHS, 17th) did not have a brilliant day but Roglic's undoing means he will at least get to keep his 7th place overall.

EVC won the day again, confirming their domination in the mountain stages. They and CFA (today's second placed team) move up a place each, ironically at the expense of the other strong finisher of today, PTM - it's just this tight at the moment.

Standings after stage 19:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	7565	+264
2nd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	7305	+274
3rd	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	6928	+453
4th	(+1)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	6904	+627
5th	(+1)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	6857	+583
6th	(-2)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6851	+516
7th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	6677	+442
8th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	6441	+299
9th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	5209	+393
10th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	4955	+272

(Today's stage considerations after the next bit)

[Sir Lüc]

Since we're mostly not gonna see big swings in GC in the remaining two stages, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at the current End of Tour points (+ the daily standing points) and how they will affect the current standings:

	Current	Daily	EOT	Total
EVC	6904	180	1815	8899
CFA	6857	200	1820	8877
CHX	7565	128	1100	8793
PTM	6851	194	1730	8775
GHS	7305	128	1130	8563
BDC	6928	136	1270	8334
CJO	6677	136	1325	8138
VFL	6441	100	880	7421
DED	5209	124	1130	6463
REX	4955	54	600	5609

It's gonna be the tightest finale in TCAT history. Velocostă and Fieschă are essentially going to score the same EOT points, which means they remain basically tied and their final standing hinges on whoever scores more stagepoints among them. And Cyclohexane is still not out of it despite a lacklustre performance on the mountains, as it does have some riders that might be suited to the remaining stages. Port Maxhestic is also going to score a lot of EOT points, bringing it also into contention for the final win. Somewhat familiarly, GHST is likely going to drop off the podium right at the end, as just five active riders make it impossible to score enough points.

BDC and CJO close off a virtual top-7 that has never been so tightly contested - if the virtual gaps were confirmed, we'd have the top 7 teams all within 761 points. In every past edition, we've never had more than just the top 3 within this same gap of the lead.

So strap in for the two remaining stages! Today's is a hilly one and likely to be targeted by lots of riders, which if I've learned anything means that only the lucky few to get in the decisive break/attack will actually contest for the win.

[Glüc]

Ooh, if Groves pulls this off, Port Maxhestic might be in a real good position here.

[Glüc]

Stage 20 Nantua -> Pontarlier

With this edition of TCAT being one of the most hotly contested so far, today was an important day. Surprisingly, it was won by Groves (PTM). Even more surprisingly Groves didn't win in a sprint, but attacking solo after being in a break which also featured Van den Broek (CFA), Gregoire (BDC/CHX/DED/REX/VFL), Jorgenson (EVC/REX) and Sweeny (PTM). Port Maxhestic won the day as a result and while they are still behind Cyclohexane and GHST, they are in a very strong position now. It is far from over however.

Standings after stage 20:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	7781	+216
2nd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	7398	+93
3rd	(+3)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	7304	+453
4th	(+1)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	7185	+328
5th	(-2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	7154	+226
6th	(-2)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	7144	+240
7th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	6790	+113
8th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	6659	+218
9th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	5434	+225
10th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	5253	+298

Tomorrow will be decisive stage, with the traditional finish on the Champs Elysees. However, there is another twist. Normally the finish in Paris is pretty much guaranteed to be a bunch sprint, but the organisation decided to shake things up and include three ascents of Montmartre, which provides an opportunity for puncheurs and potentially even some GC riders. (The stage seems almost intentionally designed for Van der Poel, but he abandoned earlier).

That means there are many riders who could win tomorrow. Groves could perhaps seal the deal for Port Maxhestic. Cyclohexane has Alaphilippe, Gregoire and maybe even Vauquelin who could do well here. Fiescha is also still in the race. Perhaps Healy or Van den Broek could do something. Esqipa Velocosta has Meeus for a sprint alongside Van Aert and Nys as potential winners, but unlike the other contenders for the overall victory, they don't have Pogacar, who might just be the favourite.

Four teams still with a clear shot at victory (and perhaps more with an outside chance). We will know as the teams cross the finishline around 19:30 (+/- 15 minutes) CEST (12:30 TST)

[Glüc]

1 lap to go. EVC has 2 in the current front group (Jorgenson and Van Aert), which puts them in a strong position. PTM, CHX, CFA all have 1, but that 1 is Pogacar.

[Glüc]

Van Aert might be the fastest sprinter in the group. If Van Aert wins here EVC might well get a second TCAT win. However Pogacar will likely try attacking again and if he gets away, maybe its Port Maxhestic that gets it...

(It might depend on what happens further behind as well)

[Glüc]

Van Aert attacking solo! Is he gonna make it? And will that be enough for EVC to win? I dont know, but I hope you all watching because its very exciting

[Glüc]

Van Aert (EVC) wins the final stage!

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 21 Mantes-la-Ville  ›  Paris (Champs-Élysées)

As Glüc already noted, yesterday's final stage was won by Wout van Aert (EVC), ahead of a trio that included Tadej Pogacar (4th, CFA/CHX/CJO/GHS/PTM). EVC completed a strong stage finish by also placing Jorgenson 5th, while GHS and CHX had Vauquelin finish 8th. Lastly, PTM's Kaden Groves got 11th by winning a reduced sprint that also included Abrahamsen (CJO/GHS, 16th), Alaphilippe (CHX/GHS, 19th) and Laurance (BDC, 20th).

Naturally, Velocostă wins the day, with GHST placing several riders in the point to finish second, slightly ahead of PTM and CHX. But most notably, Fieschă followed up stage 20's temporary gain of points over the Belacostans by unfortunately only scoring with Pogacar, leaving it far behind EVC and ending their bid for a leg victory.

As such, the following is the situation before EOT points are applied:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	8081	+300
2nd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	7731	+333
3rd	(+3)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	7644	+500
4th	(-1)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	7626	+322
5th	(-1)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	7449	+264
6th	(-1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	7244	+90
7th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	7059	+269
8th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	6767	+108
9th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	5535	+101
10th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	5451	+197

[Sir Lüc]

FINAL STANDINGS (with End of Tour points)

Not much of a surprise if you followed virtual standings, but there it is: Esqipă Velocostă wins TCAT France 2025! It therefore becomes the second team to win multiple legs, after Banqeu da Cézembre, and the first one to win in Italy and France back-to-back, giving them a shot at winning all three legs in a single season (although BDC already won all three legs back-to-back, but across two different seasons).

The three teams who had any chance to win (by scoring a meaningful amount of End of Tour points) all leapfrog the hitherto leading duo, but their EoT point differences are too slim to swap them around. Port Maxhestic, then, has to settle for second, which is still their best result in a TCAT leg after their two Spanish third places in 2023 and 2024. And Fieschă, TCAT France's defending champion, was still able to secure a valiant third place.

Much like what happened with GHST in Italy, Cyclohexane led the standings from stage 2 to 21, but its limited EoT point intake (especially due to Evenepoel and van der Poel's dual retirements) doomed it for the overall win and narrowly made it miss out even on a podium spot right at the end. And lastly, GHST itself saw something basically identical happen, with the added injuries to Jeanniere and Rodriguez additionally making it extremely unlikely it would even manage to edge out CHX despite its long chase atop the standings.

Pos	±		Team	Pts	EoT
1st	(+2)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	9449	+1805
2nd	(+2)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	9336	+1710
3rd	(+2)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	9229	+1780
4th	(-3)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	9181	+1100
5th	(-3)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	8861	+1130
6th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	8494	+1250
7th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	8364	+1305
8th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	7647	+880
9th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	6635	+1100
10th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	6065	+615

The winning margin, 113 points, is almost the smallest we've ever seen (Italy 2023, 112pts, CHX over BDC), and additionally comes off the bat of two other historically tight editions (Spain 2024, 211pts BDC over GHS and Italy 2025, 214pts EVC over VFL). But the margins were tight all around, as this is the first edition in which 6 teams finished fewer than 1000 points from the lead, while previously at best just the podium teams managed to do so.

[Sir Lüc]

SIDE CLASSIFICATIONS

Some interesting results in the side classifications: VFL wins the Sprinters's Classification almost by default due to holding Points Classification winner Jonathan Milan. Vaguely unexpectedly, GHST gets second place despite their elected sprinter crashing out injured early on, thanks to Jonas Abrahamsen taking home a surprising amount of intermediate sprint points.

The Climbers's Classification was won by Fieschă, much like last year, with Pogacar and Vingegaard providing the bulk of the points. What made the difference with runner-up PTM, who held the same duo, was however Ben Healy, who proved to have evolved into a surprisingly solid climber, even if not ready for seriously contesting the general classification yet.

And lastly the ever unpredictable combativity classification goes to REX, by quite some margin - @King Txec 's team proves adept at racking up breakaway riders after already winning this same classification once before. This time, it is Lenny Martinez who made the difference, scoring by himself the whole gap to second place in his (failed) quest to win the polkadot jersey.


SPRINTERS'S CLASSIFICATION - first win by VFL and second in any side classification after 2023 France combativity
(intermediate sprint points + daily points' classification points)
Velociposse Florencia 799
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 555
Cyclohexane 448
Port Maxhestic AC 403
Naziun Cjovani 362
Cézembre Fieschǎ 351
Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs 279
Els Talossaes Rexhitais 150
Esqipă Velocostă 120
Dirnalaiset Mortescu 118


CLIMBERS'S CLASSIFICATION - second win by CFA after France 2024
(summit points + daily KOM points)
Cézembre Fieschǎ 855
Port Maxhestic AC 780
Naziun Cjovani 520
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 486
Cyclohexane 483
Esqipă Velocostă 470
Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs 464
Els Talossaes Rexhitais 379
Dirnalaiset Mortescu 378
Velociposse Florencia 349


COMBATIVITY CLASSIFICATION - second win by REX after Italy 2024 (contested as SOS)
(20 pts per breakaway rider)
Els Talossaes Rexhitais 200
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 120
Naziun Cjovani 100
Port Maxhestic AC 80
Cyclohexane 80
Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs 80
Cézembre Fieschǎ 60
Velociposse Florencia 60
Esqipă Velocostă 40
Dirnalaiset Mortescu 20